As Naples becomes player on pro golf tours, what does it mean for Southwest Florida?

Chris DiMarco and Anthony Kim give a fist bump after finishing on the 17th green during the final round of the Shark Shootout on Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton Tiburon Golf Resort in Naples. Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson won the tournament by two shots, finishing at 30 under. Lexey Swall/Staff

NAPLES - Ten years ago, Naples had three professional tour golf events. Next year, even with the economy struggling and affecting the area's once-booming real estate market, it will do so again.

Perhaps proof more than anything of Naples' standing as the golf capital of the world.

"It's great to see (the LPGA coming back to Naples). We need to start coming back to Florida, but that'll be great. It's a perfect fit for CME. I remember the crowds being great there (for the Memorial). That'll be a bonus, too."

— Sophie Gustafson, 2001 Subaru Memorial of Naples champion, one of her five career victories

In late 2012/early 2013, the LPGA's CME Group Titleholders (which is in effect its tour championship), the Franklin Templeton Shootout, Greg Norman's unofficial PGA Tour event, and the Champions Tour's ACE Group Classic, which will celebrate its 25th year in February, all will be played in Naples.

And two of them will be at the same venue. The Titleholders will be on the Eagle Course, and the ACE will take place on the Talon Course at TwinEagles Club.

What does this mean for Southwest Florida?

"Naples is one of our favorite places to visit and has been a great home for golf for many years," said retired LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam, who has played in LPGA Tour events here, been the only female to play in the Shootout and also been involved with the Naples Winter Wine Festival.

"The Champions Tour has been so well-received here by Southwest Florida, with the LPGA Tour, it's going to be the same," longtime Champions Tour player Andy Bean said.

"The support in the community and having the financial (support) and the volunteers to come out and support it is wonderful for this area," said PGA Tour golfer George McNeill of Fort Myers.

Can an area that supports charity golf event after charity golf event without being the home to large corporations support three professional golf tournaments well enough?

"Obviously, it's good for the market and the people who live here because you're bringing the best of all three tours," said Jeff Kleiber, senior vice president of Global Events for Octagon Golf, which manages both the CME Group Titleholders (after this week's event) and the ACE Group Classic. "Does it present some challenges? Absolutely."

A HISTORY LESSON

PRO GOLF IN NAPLES

LPGA

1961-63 — Naples Pro-Am, Naples Beach Hotel & GC

1974-76 — Naples-Lely Classic/Sarah Coventry Classic, Lely CC

1993-94 — World Championship of Women's Golf, Naples National GC

1999-01 — Naples LPGA Memorial/Subaru Memorial, The Strand

Nov. 12-18 — CME Group Titleholders, TwinEagles Club

Nov. 2013 — CME Group Titleholders, TwinEagles Club

Champions Tour

1988-90 — Aetna Challenge, Pelican Bay

1991-92 — Aetna Challenge, Vineyards

1993 — Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Challenge, Vineyards

1994-95 — IntelliNet Challenge, Vineyards

1996 — Greater Naples IntelliNet Challenge, Classics at Lely Resort

1997-98 — LG Championship, Bay Colony

1999 — ACE Group Classic, Bay Colony

2000-01 — ACE Group Classic, Pelican Marsh

2002-06 — ACE Group Classic, TwinEagles

2007-08 — ACE Group Classic, Quail West

2009 — ACE Group Classic, TPC Treviso Bay

2010-11 — ACE Group Classic, The Quarry

Feb. 13-19, 2012 — ACE Group Classic, TwinEagles

* Feb. 11-17, 2013 — ACE Group Classic, TwinEagles

* dates are tentative

PGA Tour

2001 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

2002 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

2003 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

2004 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

2005 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

2006 — Merrill Lynch Shootout, Tiburón GC

2007 — Merrill Lynch Shootout, Tiburón GC

2008 — Merrill Lynch Shootout, Tiburón GC

2009 — Shark Shootout, Tiburón GC

2010 — Shark Shootout, Tiburón GC

Dec. 7-11, 2011 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

Dec. 5-9, 2012 — Franklin Templeton Shootout, Tiburón GC

This isn't anything new. Professional golf has been coming to Naples since 1961, when the LPGA's Naples Pro-Am was played at Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club. After the LPGA came and left twice — the latter in 1976 — 12 years later, the Champions Tour, the professional men's tour for players age 50 and older, arrived at the Club Pelican Bay.

And while it has nearly left, had seven different title sponsors and been played at nine different venues, the event has been a mainstay, and been heavily supported, topping 100,000 fans for the week the past few years.

In 2001, Greg Norman announced he was bringing the Franklin Templeton Shootout — known to many as the Shark Shootout — to Tiburón Golf Club. Unlike the Champions Tour event, it has been played at the same place every year, and will be back there again this year from Dec. 7-11.

Naples came the closest to what will start to experience a year from now in 2001, when the LPGA's Subaru Memorial — the most recent LPGA Tour event to be in Naples — was played in January, the ACE Group classic was held in February, and the Shootout was played in mid-November.

By the summer, the LPGA Tour event, which had been supported well attendance-wise, was put on a one-year hiatus because of difficulties finding a course, and the disappearance of two other Florida tournaments on that tour. Months later, Subaru was allowed out of its title sponsorship, and in June 2002, the tournament was dropped entirely.

In 1998, Naples had three professional golf events, keep in mind that is counting the Dodge Celebrity Invitational, which featured current and former professional athletes and entertainers playing as professionals.

BRINGING THE LPGA BACK HERE

There's no secret why the LPGA's CME Group Titleholders is here. It's CEO Terry Duffy. The Naples resident began bringing a group of LPGA Tour players to the company's Global Financial Leadership Conference in 2008.

From there, CME Group (the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) became the sponsor of the 2009 Solheim Cup — women's golf's Ryder Cup equivalent — in Chicago, then was named title sponsor of the Titleholders last March.

Moving the Titleholders, which finishes Sunday at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, to Naples just made sense.

"This was a natural fit for us down here," Duffy said.

Sorenstam played in the inaugural Naples LPGA Memorial in 1999, and has been back for CME Group's Pro-Am during its GFLC, and also for the Winter Wine Festival in Naples.

"I think for CME Group it makes a lot of sense since they have their annual business conference down there every year," she said. "Tying in the LPGA event with their meetings will be a win-win for everyone involved."

"I have some buddies that live there. They've been scouting out the golf course for me. I hear it's a beautiful golf course."

— Brittany Lincicome, LPGA Tour player who has five wins, including two this year, in six seasons

"Looking forward to going back there. I love when they have a tournament in Florida, period, because it's where I live. It's been a while since I've been over there (to Naples)."

— Karrie Webb, LPGA Tour player with 37 career victories, including two this year

"To have the LPGA come out, it's awesome. They did really well here back in the day when it was called the Subaru."

Morgan Pressel, who played in a U.S. Women's Open local qualifier in Naples as a 14-year-old, is now an LPGA Tour veteran and one of the top players. She's also played in the CME Group's pro-am at Tiburón the past few years.

"I think CME learned a lot about the LPGA Tour in the few years that they did that, and realized what a great experience it was for their customers, and decided to make a bigger impact on the LPGA Tour, and we're very grateful for that," Pressel said this week at the CME Group Titleholders in Orlando. "I think it's awesome (to move the tournament to Naples). Naples is that type of community. ... It's been a long time since we've been there. I think people are really excited about that. I know that I am."

THREE UNIQUE EVENTS

What increases the possibility of success of the three events is the fact that the three title sponsors use the tournaments to entertain their clients on a worldwide basis.

"The great thing about all three events is we all have incredible out-of-town sponsors who have a passion for this area, a passion for bringing their customers to this area, so each of our dependence upon the local corporate market is not as great if you didn't have ACE and CME and Franklin Templeton," Kleiber said.

What also helps is that each of the events is unique in its own way. The Shootout has 12 two-person teams of top tour pros playing three different formats. The Titleholders will have nearly 70 of the LPGA Tour's top players competing over four days with no cut. And The ACE Group Classic will have names golf fans who have grown up with showing that they can still more than play.

"You have a limited crossover in between the fields, which is important," Shootout tournament director Taylor Ives said.

That being said, the Shootout may appear to be the tournament that could be affected the most by the existence of the other two events.

The 2012 Titleholders will end on Nov. 18, just 17 days before the first of the Shootout's two pro-am days on Dec. 5. And Octagon will be managing the Titleholders and the ACE Group Classic sandwiched around it. The Shootout also spent the summer trying to secure a title sponsor before Franklin Templeton — which served that role prior to Merrill Lynch — announced in August it would return for 2011 and 2012.

Still, Ives wants to have the same type of welcome the Shootout was shown when it moved to Naples in 2001.

"When we were the new event in town, we were supported by local corporations and volunteers — many are still involved to this day," Ives said. "... The last 10 years, and really 10-plus years is proof that Southwest Florida can support two significant events in a year. The golf enthusiasts in this area are plentiful. You'd have to assume that a third event will be supported just as well as the first two.

"Time will tell what the impact on the individual events will be, but based on the history in this market, you'd have to believe that three events will be successful."

ECONOMIC IMPACT

All three events will give out a total of $6.1 million in prize money (led by the Shootout's $3 million) based on their current purses. But money goes to more than just the golfers.

The CME Group Titleholders and ACE Group Classic are both on the Golf Channel, while the Franklin Templeton Shootout has one round on the Golf Channel and two on NBC.

"It certainly does help us all the way around to get that additional type of exposure," said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples/Marco Island/Everglades Convention and Tourism Bureau. "We're certainly excited that it does highlight golf in our area. That's always been a draw to people."

"Golf in the Naples area, to me, is the best place in the world to be playing golf, if you're from a cold climate."

— Chip Beck, Champions Tour player who plays out of Grey Oaks

"I think there's enough golfers (who live here) that it can certainly support (three events). Golf is big here."

— Kris Tschetter, a 20-year player on the LPGA Tour

"It can't be overstated," Ives said. "The economic impact that each of these events brings to the area is significant."

How much? No one knows for sure.

"We are comfortable stating that it's in the millions," Ives said of the Shootout.

Wert said that there have been informal studies on economic impact in the past, and for the first time last year, the tourism bureau spent money on television spots during the Shootout. "It's a little hard to measure (the impact), because it's only one weekend," Wert said.

Still, for a property like the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, the shots of its signature towers as a backdrop on No. 18 means TV viewers get an image of perhaps where they'd like to stay in a possible Southwest Florida visit. Palm trees, the beach, the weather while others are freezing — many of the things that brought the people who live here or own property here in the first place — are magnets.

And the host properties also get thousands of spectators getting to experience their amenities firsthand.

Plus, all three make donations to multiple charities. The Shootout's main charity is CureSearch, the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, while the host charity for next year's ACE Group Classic is the First Tee of Naples/Collier — although both make donations to additional charities, and the Titleholders will do something similar.

"It shows me that people feel like this is a valid place to raise money, and a valid place of interest for golf," said Mark Lye, a former PGA Tour and Champions Tour player who helped bring in 25 tour pros for the Immokalee Foundation Charity Classic last Monday.